General Motors Co. in Detroit today announced the appointment of Mark Reuss as president, effective immediately. Reuss currently leads the Global Product Group and Cadillac, and will now assume responsibility for the Quality organization.
Reuss added responsibilities for Cadillac and global portfolio planning in June 2018. Since then, he has been building an integrated product development and Cadillac organization to support an accelerated product and technology launch cadence and the brand’s global growth plans. Cadillac will be introducing a new vehicle every six months through 2021.
“Mark’s global operational experience, deep product knowledge, and strong leadership will serve us well as we continue to strengthen our current business, take advantage of growth opportunities, and further define the future of personal mobility,” says Mary Barra, chairman and CEO of General Motors. “Mark has played a critical role in leading the development of the company’s award-winning vehicles while transitioning his team to prepare for growing electrification and autonomous technologies.”
Reuss has also been leading the transformation of the company’s global product development workforce and processes to drive world-class levels of engineering in advanced technologies and improve quality and speed to market. He is doubling the resources allocated to electric and autonomous vehicle programs in the next two years.
“I am very proud to have spent my entire career at General Motors, and to now take on this new role is truly a great honor,” says Reuss. “With our current lineup of outstanding cars, trucks, and crossovers around the world, I’m looking forward to keeping our momentum going at full speed.”
The automaker also announced today that it delivered 2,954,037 vehicles in 2018, including more than 1 million crossovers, almost 974,000 pickup trucks, and more than 280,000 large SUVs.
“We have built the most successful pickup, SUV, and crossover business in the industry and we gained considerable momentum in the fourth quarter of 2018 as dealers began delivering the all-new Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra and Cadillac XT4,” says Kurt McNeil, GM’s U.S. vice president, sales operations.
GM’s fourth quarter deliveries totaled 785,229 units and the company’s share of the industry’s retail sales grew every month from October through December.
“We feel confident heading into 2019 because we have more major truck and crossover launches coming during the year and the U.S. economy is strong,” McNeil adds.
Total sales of all utility vehicles, including large SUVs, totaled 1,295,700, up 7 percent. The Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban were up 5 percent and 7 percent, respectively, and the Cadillac Escalade ended the year with a retail segment share twice that of its closest domestic competitor.
Combined sales of the Chevrolet Silverado and Colorado, and the GMC Sierra and Canyon, rose 3 percent versus 2017 to a total of 973,463 pickups.
GM posted an 11 percent year-over-year increase in Commercial deliveries in 2018, following average annual growth of 7 percent from 2012-2017.
GM increased production of the Chevrolet Bolt EV during the fourth quarter to meet strong global demand, including higher than expected demand in South Korea and Canada, and to begin rebuilding U.S. dealer inventories.
Other highlights included:
- GM estimates that the light vehicle SAAR in the fourth quarter was 17.7 million units. Light vehicle sales for the calendar year are estimated at 17.3 million units.
- GM’s retail mix was 80 percent for the fourth quarter and 79 percent for the year.
- ATPs were a record $36,974 in the fourth quarter and a record $35,839 for the year, according to J.D. Power PIN estimates.
- GM’s incentives as a percent of ATP for the fourth quarter were 12.7 percent, down 1.0 percentage point year over year, according to J.D. Power PIN estimates. For the year, incentives were 13.0 percent of ATP, down 0.3 percentage points.
- Year-end 2018 inventory was 755,000 units, essentially equal to a year ago.
